flydubai set to spread wings

New Delhi, June 9: Dubai-based low-cost carrier flydubai plans to start flights to at least 35 small cities in India, including Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar and Shillong.

The airline expects the new government to open up India’s skies further to enable it to realise its plan.

“We want to fly to more airports in the country. There are at least 35 tier-II airports we want to fly to. There is a need for flights to places such as Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar and Imphal. We want to start more flights to the eastern and western sectors but with our limited number of seats such an expansion is not possible at present,” said Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice-president (commercial operations) at flydubai.

The Dubai government has allowed Emirates Airlines and flydubai to operate flights to India. Jet, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India fly from India to Dubai.

flydubai was launched in March 2008 with a vision to offer a low-cost alternative on popular routes from Dubai and open up destinations underserved by direct air links to the UAE, thereby boosting trade and tourism.

The no-frill airline added 10 new flights to India with four weekly flights to Delhi and three weekly flights to both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

The expansion follows a recent change in the bilateral air services agreement that will add 11,000 more seats per week on the Dubai-India route.

The airline also operates nine weekly flights to Lucknow, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.